I think mindfulness is important because one of the most dangerous parts of depression is not realizing that we're depressed. For me, the worst part of depression was before I was diagnosed, because I didn't have a name for how I was feeling, or a REASON for how I was feeling, I just thought that life in general was crap. Once I realized that it was an ILLNESS affecting my moods -- that I could be brought down by nothing more than brain chemistry --- it was actually a huge relief. Mindfulness, to me, helps keep me from going into that zone of "everything is terrible/pointless" and reminds me that even though I'm feeling pain, the pain does have a root cause. There's some comfort in knowing that this isn't just me, that I'm legitimately sick, and being aware of the indicators of that illness help me take a step back when I'm trying to make key decisions or evaluations about myself or my life.

I sometimes wonder if depression is something that we just manage forever, or if it's ever going to go away for good. I have my good days and I have my bad days, and since I found a medication that works, I've had more good days than bad ones, and I'm grateful for that. Occasionally I still slip, when I'm particularly stressed, when something like a death or a breakup triggers me, but I use mindfulness to remind me what parts of my pain are the depression, which voices in my head are the ILLNESS and not the true evaluation of my worth, and just knowing that this kind of pain isn't my fault is enough to see me through to the next upswing.